What is Situational Language Teaching
Shihabur Rahaman
ContributorWhat is Situational Language Teaching SLT Discuss the approach design and procedures of SLT NU Situational Language Teaching SLT also called the Oral Approach was developed in Britain between the s and s It was designed as an improvement over the Direct Method and Grammar Translation Method SLT is based on British structural linguistics and behaviorist psychology The main goal was to teach students oral fluency by practicing structures in clear situations Prominent linguists like Harold Palmer and A S Hornby shaped this method SLT influenced many textbooks and language courses until the s Approach of SLT The approach of SLT is both structural and behavioral Language is viewed as a set of structures and learning means mastering these structures Speech is given priority over writing Grammar is taught inductively where rules are discovered from examples Situations are carefully created so learners understand the meaning without translation Behaviorism influenced SLT
by stressing habit formation Students repeat and practice until the structure becomes automatic Errors are corrected quickly to avoid bad habits Design of SLT The design of SLT focused on syllabus vocabulary and grammar control The syllabus was structural moving from simple to complex patterns Vocabulary was carefully selected based on frequency and usefulness Grammar was presented through sentence patterns and substitution tables Lessons aimed to build accuracy in pronunciation and grammar The four skills listening speaking reading and writing were taught but oral skills were emphasized first Materials included picture sequences real objects and specially written texts to provide context Procedures of SLT SLT classrooms followed a systematic procedure Lessons often began with stress and intonation practice Then came the revision of earlier work New structures were presented through a situation often with objects or pictures Students practiced through choral repetition substitution drills and question-answer exercises Controlled oral practice came before reading and writing Teachers used dialogues to model correct language Error correction was immediate and the teacher guided practice closely Pair and group work were limited but sometimes used Strengths of SLT SLT had clear strengths It gave priority to oral practice which improved fluency Its use of situations made language learning more meaningful Vocabulary control helped learners focus on common words The structural syllabus made progress systematic and graded Teaching materials such as First Things First by Alexander showed how effective SLT could be in textbooks It also influenced the PPP model Presentation Practice and Production which shaped modern ELT classrooms Weaknesses of SLT SLT also faced criticism It was too focused on form and accuracy ignoring free communication Learners often memorized patterns without developing creativity Writing and advanced skills were less practiced Behaviorist learning theory which supported SLT was later discredited Chomsky argued that language cannot be learned only through habit formation Learners need to develop competence to create new sentences Because of these limits SLT was later replaced by Communicative Language Teaching in the s In summary Situational Language Teaching was an important stage in ELT history It combined structural linguistics with behaviorist psychology to build oral accuracy through practice in meaningful situations Its approach design and procedures gave teachers a clear system to follow Although later criticized for lack of creativity and communicative focus it strongly influenced modern teaching methods Many features of SLT like situational practice and the PPP model are still visible in today s classrooms